Our pals over at BBtv celebrate their 50th episode with Mark Frauenfelder showing how he built an LM386-based guitar amp. This is basically the same amp that was used in MAKE Volume 09, in the Cracker Box Amp project. The episode also includes a short video by MAKE contributor Bill Barminski (and Christopher Louie).
BTW: Mark complains in the video that the sound out of the amp is a little fuzzy. In the MAKE piece, Blind Lightnin’ Pete says that you can get a cleaner tone with more headroom by using the LM386N-4 variant of the chip and driving it at a higher voltage (it can handle up to 18V).
Mark makes a mini amp / Funky cowboy (BBtv’s 50th!) – Link
From Make: Books:
The $5 Cracker Box Amp project, as well as another LM386-based project, Mousey the Junkbot, can be found in our new 75-project collection, The Best of Make.
The Best of Make
Price: $34.99
Buy: Maker Store – Link
After two years, MAKE has become one of most celebrated new magazines to hit the newsstands, and certainly one of the hottest reads. If you’re just catching on to the MAKE phenomenon and wonder what you’ve missed, this book contains the best DIY projects from the magazine’s first ten volumes — a surefire collection of fun and challenging activities going back to MAKE’s launch in early 2005.
